


The Virginity of Maternity

by pinkbowbunny



Category: Dororo (Anime 2019)
Genre: Cute, F/M, Gen, Multi, Other, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Short & Sweet, Sweet, platonic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:41:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26474347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinkbowbunny/pseuds/pinkbowbunny
Summary: Sets where the anime ends, with Hyakkimaru and Dororo meeting each other years later in Mio's rice fields and picking up where they left off.Maternity is just sort of expected of some of us, isn't it? So many out there are in need of a mother... Someone to guide them and support them... Sometimes it can't always be our "real" mothers, so...Dororo is HC'd as female in this one, just in case that bothers anyone, though it isn't meant to. Might possibly become Hyakki/Dororo later but first plot and cuteness. Please kudo and/or comment if you enjoy~
Relationships: none mostly just platonic, platonic cuteness
Comments: 4
Kudos: 21





	1. Chapter 1

A war isn't something that just goes away overnight. The feelings of turmoil linger in the affected for many years and lands ravaged by famine don't heal in one season. But people are resilient... People are hardy, and determined. Somehow, some people always manage to survive through the worst of times.

It was no wonder why Dororo was not only one of those people, but now had entire villages of those tough-as-nails survivors loyal to her. It would have been all too easy for men to repeat the same mistakes as they ever had when Dororo had, as a child, entrusted a group of men to help her find and redistribute her father's riches. It would have been too easy to betray her and take it and fight over it and die over it and then squander it like so many men before them would have done... But that's not what happened. 

These men were humbled. They already considered themselves lucky just to have survived the horrors that they'd seen. When the silly little child bragged to them about her father's hidden savings and offered to share, they assumed that a child's estimations of the wealth must be at least slightly exaggerated, though they still went along, knowing that anything was better than nothing in these times. When they finally did make it to the island the girl (some men assumed 'he' was a boy at first, until Dororo shyly revealed the 'map', which was quickly copied so that she never had to reveal it again) had talked about, and realized the truth of her claims, the magnitude of the riches, and most importantly, the bodies and the wreckage of the men that had died trying to get it unjustly before... They realized with the humbled hearts why the child had chosen to share something like this, and why they had to protect her and do the same... Because it belonged to everyone. It was supposed to help everyone, not just one man and his family. It always had...

The lord and his son were always so respected for their bravery in battle but he just kept the wars going, didn't he... And the lord's wife had been so respected, helping the suffering in all her finery... But the men realized suddenly that this child in rags was due a hundredfold that respect. Dororo arrived at that fated island an orphan... But she left it as the most respected and beloved daughter of several clans. They respected her and her shared gains, sharing it in turn not just with their own families but the surrounding villages too.

When the crops did well, they shared with their neighbors. Little by little, over the years, more and more people began to flourish and prosper. Bellies started to get just a little fatter. Children started to grow a little taller than their parents had managed to in their generation. Dororo didn't know it, but she had grown a little taller than her mother had gotten to be...

Dororo, now just shy of sixteen, was thankfully still a virgin and thankfully that was now more protected than ever. But for about a year now, she had been officially recognized by the several groups of clans that she had saved over the years, as the 'Mother' of their clans and their lands. There was nowhere she could not walk where she would not be treated well, where she would not be offered a meal for all the food she help spread through the land, where anyone who even thought of doing her harm would not know that doing so would incur the wrath of hundreds more men. Not a single hair on her head was in danger of any harm now, or ever would be again...

So since that was the case, she felt at liberty to travel freely again, like she used to, after a while... She allowed herself to stay with the villagers for a few years through her childhood, learning skills from them too as they shared with others. She learned farming and fishing and animal husbandry and how to hunt and ride from the men. She learned how to cook and sew and mend clothes (she now couldn't believe how many years she'd made those patchy old barebones rags cover her body and still convince people she was a boy...) and how to make medicines and treat injuries and illnesses from the women. She paid special attention to the midwives and learned many of their skills. She considered it of the utmost importance that all the babies born into every village be as healthy and as cared for as possible. She oversaw several births herself and was known to convince some parents not to give up on children that hadn't been born perfect... In the prior generation many of these children might have been abandoned or even killed at birth. But with Dororo's intervention, kindness and charity, the means was found for many more of them to survive. This was another reason she had become known as the 'Mother of All Clans'.

Her name was actually pretty well known... Hyakkimaru's was another case, but well, he preferred it that way. He preferred people not really knowing that much about him, especially not his name... He was just... A simple rice farmer. That was all now. And he actually didn't go by Hyakkimaru anymore, obviously, since that name had become kind of muddled up with a lot of bad associations. He didn't want all that following him now, so he hadn't gone by that name in a while. That especially made it harder for Dororo to find Hyakkimaru again, when she had bothered trying to again, after living with the villagers for a while and having her lost childhood with them... But she was determined, and finally the clues started adding up, like a trail of rice, and one day... She found herself running down a dock to meet him. A dock that had once been connected to a lake that had long since nearly dried up, which Hyakkimaru had now made into a huge meadow of a rice paddy. It went on for miles in different directions, almost more golden than the sun, brilliant even compared to the man that made them, who turned to greet her surrounded by them, with a small smile...

She smiled back at him as she arrived just a few feet away from him, wondering if it was really him, and if it was, if it was still really okay that she was here... Perhaps he might not want to remember the things he associated with her, once he realized it was her... But, he just continued to smile at her...

She finally squirmed, and wondered aloud, "Ah... Nobody's heard anything from any 'Hyakkimaru' in a long time... But... I know that's who you really are... Harada Ishii? You're not exactly creative there, aniki... Is... Is it still okay to call you aniki...?"

She nervously glanced away from him, towards the rice paddies and the old stone well that rested nearby, which the mostly silent Hyakkimaru had decided to name himself after when his neighbors finally asked for what to call him. The slightly older but still young man continued to smile at her, recognition lighting up a little slower in his eyes, having to put together a few extra pieces to the puzzle of this pretty 'new' face. "Ah... Dororo... We can't really call me Hyakkimaru anymore, but... I'd like it if you still called me 'Aniki'..."

Dororo crossed the last several feet to him in a single leap, landing against his chest in an almost painful embrace that sent the two of them tipping over onto their backs on the docks, laughing and hugging and holding each other, nuzzling cheeks and admiring one another's faces for the first time in years, both hardly believing the other was really real... 

Finally Dororo got up again, and let Hyakkimaru do the same, dusting herself before proclaiming, "Wow! Look at all that rice! You definitely must have way more than you'll ever eat! So do you sell the rest, aniki? Are you doing well for yourself? I... I've been worried about you, you know..." She suddenly tapered off, tears slowly welling up. "I trusted you were out there somewhere alive but... I still always worried about you, and wondered if you were doing okay..."

He nuzzled her one last time, and then reached to wipe away her tears with his fingertips, marveling at how quickly the warm tear on his skin turned cold... "I only sell a bit... Most of it I trade. I've made a home for myself, and a coop. With my own hands. Then I traded my rice for some chickens. Now I have a few hens and a rooster. I get lots of eggs. What I do sell, I try to save. I want to buy a horse someday..."

That was good... That aniki still wanted to care for a horse someday, despite what had happened... Maybe because of it... Probably at least partly for atonement and partly for his own therapy, to care for a creature he'd been forced to watch die... And gosh, aniki sure talked a lot more now! Or maybe not. Maybe he was just excited to talk to her in such a long time...

Of course Dororo offered right away, "Some of the men in my villages have horses! I bet I could get you a nice strong horse for a good price, just let me know once you've built yourself a stable~" 

He nodded appreciatively. "Thank you, Dororo... For your offer, and... For coming to see me like this. For... Being there for me, all those years ago... I never thanked you for all that, did I? If I did, it wasn't enough... I wouldn't have the life I do now if not for you..."

Dororo brushed his praise away with a shy rub of her nose. Lots of people had told her something similar over the years, though coming from her normally silent and stoic bro, it made her blush a little extra. "Hehe! It's not a big deal, aniki..." That's what she said to everyone else too... But then she added, "Hey, aniki... Lets go for a walk~ I wanna see all of Mio's seeds..." 

He nodded, and the two began to walk together down the 'old dusty trail', just like they always used to, all those years ago. For a few moments it was like nothing had ever changed, except for the growing of that wheat and their bodies. The grain that Mio had died for, now thriving, now living on as her legacy, feeding children like those she tried so hard to care for herself... A few times... Grateful villagers had come to Dororo, offering to make a statue of her now that times were good, but she declined. Not just due to modesty either... But the knowledge that if anyone was saintly enough to deserve a statue, it was Mio... 

Unfortunately though, no one had ever heard of Mio... At least, no one was alive that had heard of her that Dororo wanted to hear of. No. Besides Dororo and Hyakkimaru, all of Mio's true friends had died that day with her...

A little further down the road was a neighbor's shack. An old man and woman lived there with an orphaned granddaughter, Hyakkimaru, or, 'Ishii' told her, though that soon became apparent when the young brat, no older than six, came running out of the little shack completely naked, jumping into the shallow waters of the rice paddy to get clean and cool. This was something 'Ishii' had always allowed before but the girl's grandparents came out fussing over her. The grandfather carried a clean robe to try and catch and dry the wet child in, while the grandmother scolded lightly from the bank, "Ah! Ayami! You must not be so indecent around our neighbors! So sorry, Harada-san! Haha! Ayami, really, it's one thing to go for a dip when no one's around, with me or grandpa there to watch you. Otherwise it could be dangerous! Or you might embarrass our dear neighbor! You need to learn not to be so impulsive, dear, you really can't keep this up when you get much older, my, my..." She finally gently concluded, the grandfather then catching the naked child in the robe and wrapping her up before handing her to her grandmother to bring her inside. 

Dororo chuckled to herself over the sight of the cute little naked baby acting free and crazy. Sure brought back memories. Hyakki-Ishii had averted his eyes in 'decency' as he had learned to do. He liked to stare at lots of things with his still more than novel eyesight, but he had long since learned that staring at naked people wasn't a good idea, for lots of reasons. That and also staring directly at the sun. That had been a painful and rather alarming lesson...

It also brought back memories for Hyakkimaru too though, and he began to wonder, "Dororo... Was it... Indecent, that we traveled together?"

The older girl-child shrugged off his concern rather simply. "Hm... Maybe, probably... But ultimately no, for several reasons!" She put up a finger, since he could now see them after all. "First of all, the obvious fact that you couldn't see me. But second and more importantly!" She held up the second finger, but quickly seemed to lose confidence in the next answer. "...No one was around then to really care about that sort of thing with me. My papa raised me as a boy to try to protect me, but after he and mama died... I kept it up to protect myself... Because I knew... No one cares if anyone hurts a street kid. So... Ultimately, that's why it wasn't indecent, aniki! Because nobody cared."

"I care..." Hyakkimaru quickly added. "That's why... I left... Not because I didn't care anymore. Not just to become someone different for me... I was worried I had hurt you, and that I would continue to... I just want you to know, that's why I left... Because I was trying to care... I'm sorry if you ever got hurt because I wasn't around. But I thought you'd probably be more likely to get hurt if you kept traveling with me..."

Dororo nodded, lowering her head in understanding. "Ah... I got it. I knew why, even then... I missed you, but I knew you needed to be by yourself for a while after all that happened, to discover yourself after regaining what had been taken from you... But... I still missed you, aniki! I never stopped missing you... That's why I had to seek you out... I understand why you needed to put distance between us, why you'd worry about me like that even more after finally being able to see... But I really, really missed you..." She concluded, tearing up more than a bit.

Hyakkimaru nodded in understanding, and agreement. "I missed you too, Dororo. I just couldn't take the chance... That I'd end up missing you forever. Like Mio..."

Dororo's heart ached for him. "Ah... I get it, aniki... But, you'll miss me forever if you avoid me forever too, so don't do that either, okay?!"

Hyakkimaru nodded again, shamed silent for a moment or two. They reached the end of his field and the path, some woods lay beyond, but they chose to turn around and start walking back to his little shack. Dororo took her hair out of it's low ponytail and began to comb her hair a bit with her fingers, until it was a little less straw-like. Then she tied it back just the way she had it. "...You know, aniki... I wear my hair a lot now the way Mio used to... To honor her memory, and also... I wanted you to know a least a bit what she looked like, when you got to see me again..."

Hyakkimaru stopped walking for a moment, staring at her more fully and openly now. She let him, blushing for a minute before turning back to face his gaze, "Mio was really pretty... I'm not as pretty as she was, but--"

He cut her off, smiling and simply replying, "Thank you, Dororo..."

They walked a few more steps in silence. Then Hyakkimaru suddenly asked, "Dororo... Do you remember... What your mother's face looked like?"

Dororo was immediately a little defensive, "Huh? Of course! Um..." But then she began to relent, and wonder, was her memory, long as it was by now, faded and muddled by the memory of the fake face of Okaka the Sculptor...? It was possible her mother's dead image was too much too bear and she had subconsciously replaced it with the memory of a very similar but living face from more recent memory... She wanted to believe it wasn't true, but she had to admit it was possible, and anyways Hyakkimaru was probably asking, probably had that guilty look on his face because... Because... "I mean... It's been a really long time, of course, but I'm pretty sure I do... Why do you ask, aniki?"

He let out a weighted breath, and cast his eyes down at the ground. "...I'm not sure I can remember mine anymore. I saw her... But it was only just once, only for a second... I focused on Jukai more in that second that I had... I didn't get to focus on my mother for more than a brief instant... And, the air was full of smoke then anyways too... Dororo... Would you mind... If I thought of your face a bit, when I think of my mother...?" He blushed a bit then, which was kinda funny and cute, very little could make someone like bro blush, he had no sense of self-consciousness almost at all... "Only to fill in what I don't remember, I mean..."

Dororo didn't judge him or tease him like she normally might. She simply nodded her permission and smiled in enthusiasm.

They continued walking on, and Hyakkimaru quickly resumed talking too, "Dororo... I have more questions. I have a few. First... You used to dress like a boy... I knew you were a girl early on but... Are you a girl for good now, or were you just dressing like Mio for my sake? If so, you don't have to keep doing that, if you really don't want to. My eyes are good now. I could remember the way you look now, I'm sure..."

Dororo smiled, then cracked a grin. Soon she couldn't help but laugh a little too. She knew her bro was trying to be considerate, but he had no idea what he was saying... "Aniki... My Mama and Papa used to dress me as a boy to try and protect me. When I was a street urchin, I did it to protect myself, and since nobody cared about me then, nobody had any expectations of me either. But since the wars finally ended, people took me in... They gave me lots of great experiences as a family, but also, they knew exactly what I was, especially after a while, and so they started having new expectations of me too... It was kind of annoying, but nobody really overdid it, and after a while I thought to myself, if Mio and my Mom could handle being a girl, then surely I could too... And thankfully since I'm not really any of the villager's kids, they didn't really feel like telling me what to do, so I could learn to do anything, both 'girl' things and 'boy' things. Also my Papa's money made everything right as rain again, and they made me one of the village chiefs anyways despite my gender and age, so of course they're not gonna be too hard on me for that, but yanno... Well, once I grew these darn breasts, I kinda had to cover them up no matter what! And since I was growing my hair out to look like Mio anyways, I figured I might as well just wear something nice to compliment it... I-It's not a big deal though--!" She added in embarrassment as Hyakkimaru suddenly began to snicker and then laugh.

"Dororo... You were still pretty back when you were a street urchin in rags. But you are prettier now that you like to wear dressy clothes..." He admitted.

She sighed, showing her annoyance, clearly ready to change the subject. "Alright! What's your OTHER question??"

They had reached his house now. He opened the screen door for her and let her inside, then closed the door behind them. She sat down on a straw mat to rest, and while she did, Hyakkimaru began to light a fire to prepare some rice for them for supper. He spoke while striking the flint, "That time... Back when I almost got married to that girl Okowa... Did you think I was 'too young' to be getting married to her then, or was I 'about the right age'?"

"TOO YOUNG!" Dororo very quickly blurted out, "Too young, too young! MAN that feels good to freely say!" She let out a big sigh then went on, "I mean of course besides being under that stupid demon's spell, being so much younger I couldn't tell you you were too young for anything anyways but... The BIGGER problem was that you barely knew her at all and just MET her, but I STILL thought you were too young to be getting married then too!" She finally sighed with relief at the end, and crossed her arms for good measure.

Hyakkimaru wasn't offended by her frankness, he was clearly taking her opinion seriously. "Then... What about now? Am I still too young, or am I now 'about the right age' for such things?"

"Eh...? I mean...? W-Wait! Why are you asking??" Dororo suddenly blushed again while asking, suddenly feeling like this conversation seemed a bit strange. 

Hyakkimaru poured water into the pot, watching as it started to hiss as it hit the heated metal. "One of my neighbors down the other way asked me if I might want to marry their daughter. She's a couple years younger than me, but a few years older than you... She reminds me of Okowa. She's shy and blushes over everything. She seems nice but I'm not sure if I should marry her... The imp made me much more agreeable back then but truthfully I had reservations deep down about it then too, and I still do now... She's pretty and seems nice, but I still barely know her and only just met her too..."

Dororo sighed, stroking her ponytail over her shoulder. "Well, that's all you need to tell her and her folks, too? I'm sure they just noticed you seemed like a reliable and hard working man and wanted to see if they could get their daughter married to reliable-looking guy like that, but they surely can't blame you for wanting to get know someone first before you can just agree to marry them, not everybody can just do that..." Boy a lot of other people always sure seemed to be in a hurry to get married though!

Hyakkimaru nodded in apparent agreement, and soon added a generous portion of rice to the pot to cook. While it cooked, he began to tell her, "Dororo... Thank you... I know I could have made my own mind in time, and that's what I was thinking anyways, but... I'm glad to know how you feel about it too. It's a relief to know you feel the same, and I would have wanted to know if you didn't too... Dororo... If I ever do think I might want to get married..."

He trailed off for a second, Dororo almost inquired his name, but then he suddenly got very close, clasped both of her hands in his, and stared her right in the eyes. "...I want you to approve of them. I don't have parents. My brother is gone too. You're the closest I have to family, so... If anyone wants to be my family, I want you to approve. Because you're the only person I have to... You're the only person I -want- to approve." He amended, still staring her in the eyes long after his speech.

Dororo's eyes started to get misty. "Aniki... Okay... If it would make you feel better, then of course I can do that... And then, I guess..." She started to blush up then, and took back her hands to fidget as she mentioned, "I-If I ever, m-maybe, g-get m-married t-too, I'll make sure y-you approve too--!"

Hyakkimaru continued to stare at her though. He apparently had one more question. "...Dororo. Are you going to marry a boy, or a girl...?"

"A-ANIKIIIIII--! G-GO WATCH YOUR RICE! M-MAKE SURE IT'S NOT BURNING!"

...Besides, Dororo wasn't completely sure of that just yet either...

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

(( ^^ Hey y'all, it's been a while since I had an offering for this fandom, hope you like the breadcrumbs I managed to find for ya today~ Right now it's just a one-shot/stand-alone, but if you guys like it I did have some thoughts about Dororo possibly eventually founding an orphanage with Hyakkimaru like Mio did... Of them using Hyakki's rice not for profit (he coulda sold more but he's been donating most of it, only rly selling to the rich) but to feed and raise a whole generation of otherwise abandoned children (Dororo can't convince every mother to be a mother for long, her pleading doesn't work as much when she's not a cute kid herself anymore unfortunately...) and IDK I cooould keep it platonic or have the kids tease much older Dororo into admitting she might have feelings for Hyakki, or vice versa, IDK, I'm iffy about the ship generally but if Dororo's much older and their relationship has had lots of time to evolve it might be different, but generally I prefer platonic... Well, ANYWAYS. Please comment or kudo if you like it and let me know what you think please! ))


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (( Okay, sooooo... I found myself writing more for this. IDK. If anyone actually likes it I might keep going and make a whole thing of it, who knows... Let me know if you guys actually wanna see more, n please be kind... ))

The one thing she was sure of was that Dororo wanted to see her good old aniki again, but she still had her own life to return to as well. After catching up for another few days, helping him tend to his rice with a couple of local boys who he paid in grain to help him harvest it. Dororo left back for the town of her residence, promising as she left to talk to the horse-breeders for him. 

Things back in her old town were bustling and it turned out they just had a few foals born last season, so she told the breeder she trusted most where to find her aniki and paid for him in advance to take him the strongest-looking one, so he wouldn't even have to hand over any coin or grain for the horse when it arrived if he wanted to, though Dororo knew her bro would tip him well for his journey too. After that her life returned mostly to normal, resuming her lessons, learning skills from the healers and midwives in town. There wasn't much left to learn though, she had been under their tutelage for a few years and had soaked up almost all the wisdom they had to share, and had shared in most of the experiences they would witness... 

Most... Poor Dororo had so far been spared a few hard lessons, but not for long, as life went on and even without demons tragedy befell the common man... And woman.

One such poor pitiful 'woman', a young lady, barely older than Dororo who herself was just barely a woman, traveled a moderate distance and came to Dororo's house in the dead of the night, under a moonless sky... Under the cover of complete darkness, she took her broken little bundle, a burden too much for her in the situation she was in. She had escaped the house she had been confined to, but to escape the man that had unjustly claimed himself her master... She had to get rid of this thing, this cursed thing. Surely it was a sign that man was never meant to touch her, that their spawn came out so horribly cursed...

She had heard people say where the local midwives lived... She reasoned in her desperate mind, they delivered all the births, so they would know who might have lost their baby, who might be desperate enough themselves for a replacement that they'd take... It. She didn't care, she just had to get it away from HER...

Yes, this is where the midwives lived, she was sure of it... She left the poor little wretch at least wrapped up in a bundle to keep it alive, and then left it in front of some random woman's room, surely any one of them would know and care better what to do with it now, and after that, she ran, her feet feeling lighter than the strands of her hair with it finally gone...

Dororo felt a cold creep over her with the dawn of morning, and she stretched a bit, about to pull her blanket over her tighter and sleep a bit, but then... A cry? A shrill, nasally little cry, and of course hearing a sound like that in the night, she couldn't ignore it... So she got up, opened the screen, and to her shock, on the porch in front of her was a wrapped-up infant, who had poked a leg out of the blanket and was now cold... Curiously, almost knowingly, dreading... Dororo pulled back the cloth and bleared still-sleepy at the infant under the dim light of the barely-rising sun...

Well... Since Dororo had seen Hyakkimaru she could say she'd seen worse, but it was still a terribly unfortunate little thing. The foot that had been sticking out was one of the few things -not- wrong, it seemed. Right away she noticed the other foot was badly twisted with what some people called 'clubfoot', and strange hands... An extra middle finger on one hand that made it look a little too big, so it would be hard enough to hide even if not for the fact that the two middle fingers were halfway fused, and on the other hand where her middle finger was normal, there was still a strange small extra thumb-like growth branching off the side of the thumb on that hand... On top of all that the child had a considerable cleft palate that split up to the nostril, giving the look of a hole or gap in the middle of the mouth and dragging one nostril down a bit...

Poor Dororo was of course shocked, not disgusted by the child, not in the least, she only had sympathy for the pain they must be enduring, and she was simply shocked at being awoken so early by such a thing. The first thing she could think to do was awaken and alert her nearby neighbors, the true midwives. Once the two of them were up, they inspected the poor child, tsking over the gravity of the deformities. They in turn went and and knocked on a few doors of nearby families, asking questions. Not long after a few of the men of the households told the midwives that they remembered that a young woman had been dragging her feet along the streets with her head down and a bundle in her arms. It must have been her, they were convinced. 

So the men went out together and not long after the poor, scared young girl was dragged back with them, her freedom cut short. She was clearly terrified, refused to look at the baby at all. When the midwives offered her the bundle, she stubbornly looked away.

Dororo looked down at her with sad eyes, "You... You really won't take them? Even if they might die...?"

"I wouldn't care. If you try to force me, I'll kill myself too..."

Dororo looked down at her in shock. What else could be said? "...Then I'll take them, and you can go."

The other villagers looked on at her in pity and shock. "Lady Dororo, please, are you sure? Perhaps reconsider..."

She shook her head, holding the child closer. "There's no point forcing her to try and take them. If she says it's too much for her to bear, then I believe her... I'm sure I can find another family for this little one in time. In any case I can't force them on her if if would only kill them both..."

She refused to make the other girl shoulder the weight of what happened to her, and she again ran away as soon as she could, but it didn't take long for Dororo to understand the weight she was trying to bear, either... 

First of all the child, which upon closer inspection of a first bottom cleaning and sponge bath turned out to in fact be female, had to be fed... Dororo hadn't had any problems keeping herself fed the last few years, but this child was a considerably bigger challenge. First of all she was barely older than a newborn and needed milk, and Dororo, a virgin, obviously had no immediate access to any supply of the stuff. She had to start visiting her wet nurse neighbors multiple times a day to try and keep the poor thing sated, but they already had babes to take onto their breast and could barely make time or room or milk for another, and though Dororo didn't bring it up, she could see how they winced to let her latch onto them with her mouth like that, even though it was hard enough for the poor babe too... They weren't just being unkind, she knew that truthfully, they did already have their own families to feed and an unhealthy outsider's child was an impractical burden at this time. She knew now the burden she had naively asked others to take on too...

Being that they needed to save their supply for other, healthier babies that were already under their care first, the poor little deformed girl often wasn't getting quite enough from the wet nurses. She cried so pitifully during the night and had to be held half if not the entire night just to get her to stay quiet enough not to wake the neighbors, let alone get any sleep herself. In desperation once, knowing that the baby was too hungry to sleep but having nothing else to give her, Dororo exposed one of her own breasts to the babe, pulling her robes aside and letting her suckle, if at least to pacify and quiet her enough to pass out for the rest of the night...

Somehow it worked, in fact after a few days it started to work even better than she could have hoped or imagined. With her mouth and lips deformed like they were she had a really difficult time suckling from anyone, but once she took to Dororo's breast she didn't want to take from anyone else again. This concerned Dororo at first and she worried that the baby would starve being so fussy, but to the biggest shock for her of all, Dororo discovered that somehow she was actually quickly starting to make milk from her own breasts, despite never even being pregnant before...

It was confusing and distressing, especially because ever since the infant started suckling from her, her smaller-sized breasts had started growing and now they were much more noticeable they they were before, and besides that it wasn't long before they started to get tender and sore from how she was regularly using them... She struggled to find time to do her house chores around trying to care for the infant's needs too, then to find the time to get or make food to eat enough to make the milk needed, which the baby often had trouble keeping down her throat or not getting up her nose. It wasn't a pretty sight and unlike most other females Dororo was self-conscious about breastfeeding anyways, so she felt she had to stay inside away from prying eyes while she fed the baby, for both their comfort and privacy... It was good she had finished her studies before the baby came along, because there was certainly no more time for that... Not that anyone was going to ask her for help despite the skills she had acquired over the years, with her in this state she obviously was the one who needed help, even if she was too proud to ask for it anymore than she really had to...

But... It was all just... Too much. Dororo started to realize that before long... She still pitied the child but she resented her loss of freedom, her lack of real choice in the matter. What was she supposed to do, after all, just watch her die like the others were content to...? She refused to do that, but now what was becoming of her life... She felt so alone, but she was too prideful to admit she had taken on too much to handle. She didn't want to admit the baby was a burden to her, even if it was obviously true...

She wasn't sure what she was doing exactly, but one night, she just... Had to leave. She had to get away from all these eyes. They weren't exactly judging her, but... She just knew they were all expecting her to be perfect with this, for this to just come naturally to her like so many other things did. She needed help. But there was only one person she could stand to ask...

It was quite a journey to make on the spot, on foot, carrying the infant, with limited supplies... Dororo didn't look too great when she arrived on Hyakkimaru's house. Her hair was sweaty and dirty, and her head was cast down. That plus the infant she was holding almost made her unrecognizable when Hyakkimaru answered the door after she knocked.

In fact Hyakkimaru still couldn't tell for sure just who on earth was at his door in the middle of the night, until she raised her head at last and looked up at him with pleading eyes.

Hyakkimaru almost had to take a step back in shock then, and then quickly stepped back anyways to allow her to step into the house. She quickly allowed herself in, but put her head back down, gazing at the babe, knowing Hyakkimaru was doing the same... 

"...Not mine." She quickly mentioned, feeling her aniki's blood rising. "But, someone left her with me... I've been trying to take care of her... But... It's really hard. I'm really, really tired..." She admitted weakly, hating herself for it, but unable to deny it even to herself anymore. "I need help..."

"I'll help. Let me help." Hyakkimaru immediately offered, reaching out to take the babe from her. The little one seemed hesitant at first like she often was around anyone but Dororo, but Dororo was beyond exhausted and needed a break so badly that she had to insist, pushing the infant into Hyakkimaru's hold without hearing any more about it. The little one tried to make her hear more about it at first, but Hyakkimaru quickly demanded her attention, inspecting her closely with his still novel, working eyes... 

Dororo weakly explained, laying down next to Hyakkimaru's hearth-fire on the floor. "The mother insisted she couldn't stand to keep her, so... I couldn't stand to force her to. But... I guess I've been a hypocrite, batting my eyes at people to take on this burden, maybe this is karma... It's so hard...!" She sobbed a little at the end there...

Hyakkimaru continued to stare at the babe, lightly tickling her on the bottom of her good foot... "Hmph... What's so wrong with her? Her foot? At least she's still got it. Her fingers? Is having an extra worse than having none at all? I say she's blessed to be alive. Surely this isn't so bad that someone couldn't fix it..."

The baby quickly quieted in Hyakkimaru's hold after that, drifting off to sleep with him peacefully. Dororo soon did the same, never answering Hyakkimaru, too tired to do anything but let the warmth of the fire dry her yukata and send her to sleep...

Dororo woke up a short time later to a familiar old sound... A familiar old tune, but sung in a very different voice. It was Mio's old song, but... Hyakkimaru was singing it...

Rubbing her eyes and sitting up, Dororo blinked sleepily at him. "...You still remember that too, huh..."

Hyakkimaru briefly paused the song to answer, and then ask her, "I could never forget it... Does she have a name?"

Dororo shook her head. "I know I should have named her by now, but... It felt weird to name her... And I wasn't sure what to pick..."

Hyakkimaru looked up, immediately hopeful at that. "Can she be... Mio? She likes her old song... It keeps her quiet longer than anything else..."

Dororo smiled sheepishly at that and nodded. "It's as good a name as any... I'm sure Mio wouldn't be offended..." Truthfully that had been the only name Dororo had ever thought of, besides her own mother's, but it felt wrong to just bestow a name like that. With Hyakkimaru's blessing though, it seemed much more natural... 

Hyakkimaru nodded, content with that, and went back to singing for the infant to keep her asleep, assuming Dororo would drift back off into her much needed sleep too... But instead she slowly crept over to her aniki, settling into his arms, laying her head against his shoulder, listening to his soft singing and to his heartbeat... Another sob suddenly bubbled up in her. She buried her face against his chest and began to cry, like a child. Like a baby. He held her, and let her...

Normally the slightest noise could wake little Mio, but despite Dororo's cries, she was content enough to stay slumbering throughout the rest of the night...

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(( Weeeeell it looks like I might maybe have more in mind for this? XD;; IDK, depends on if anyone else is on for the ride or not, but if you like it let me know and I might see where else it goes. If I keep going it'll probably eventually be Hyakki/Dororo but not immediately, plot first. Anyways please comment/kudo~ ))


	3. Chapter 3

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Dororo quickly fell asleep in her aniki's arms, and he laid her back down by the hearth-fire to get warm and dry again after all the crying, lying down next to her with the baby lying between them to keep them both extra warm until morning. The sun was well up when Hyakkimaru's belly finally urged him to part from them and begin preparing some rice porridge for breakfast. By the time it was ready to serve, Dororo was still asleep, though the baby had started to open her eyes. Only once the little one started to hiccup into a bawl did Dororo finally stir, forcing herself to sit up on her hind end with her legs drawn in. 

Yawning, she reached down and picked newly named little Mio up, let her robe fall off of one shoulder and exposing a breast as she lifted the child up to it and--...Then she sniffed, remembering that the smell of cooking food had been what had woken her up, but if she just woke up and hadn't cooked yet then--?

Her eyes suddenly shot wide open, looking over to see Hyakkimaru stirring at the porridge in the pot, just barely starting to look over at her--

"HYAAA! DON'T LOOK!" She suddenly shrieked in surprise and embarrassment, but not any true alarm... Then she realized she had been the one to expose herself, in his home... "...AH! I MEAN, I'M SORRY, I FORGOT, B-BUT--!"

Hyakkimaru suddenly snorted into a laugh, ducking his head back to the pot and chuckling a bit before responding, "Aah, it's fine... Let her eat first... I think the porridge is already cool enough, but a few minutes to make sure won't hurt..."

...Yeah. That was fine. Dororo preferred her porridge nice and cool, not too hot...

After a minute of silence though, Hyakkimaru spoke up, a bit shyly, if Dororo was correct... "How... Are you doing that, though...?"

Dororo blushed deep at that, knowing that he knew why it was strange. She tried to explain as best she could, "I can't explain it more than anyone else... All I know is she was in need, so Buddha must have given her what she needed through me..."

Hyakkimaru stirred the porridge with a wooden spoon, silent for a second or two, but then he couldn't help but press just a bit, "But... Then how did you know--?"

Dororo had to snap at him then, "TH-THE BABY KNEW WHAT TO DO, S-SO I KNEW WHAT TO DO, ALRIGHT?!"

Hyakkimaru withdrew then, ducking away to give her a moment to herself while he went outside to his chicken coop to collect a few eggs. He came back with four, and after pouring the porridge into two bowls and rinsing out the pot, he filled it with water and put the eggs in over the flame to boil. He then held out the cooled bowl of porridge to Dororo, without looking directly at her, although her breast was currently covered by the baby's mouth.

Blushing, she quickly reached over and took the bowl with one hand, holding the baby up with one arm while she quickly took a few sips from the bowl. However, the baby had to be held a certain way while she was feeding to make sure her food got down the right way, and Dororo only got less than half the contents of her bowl down before she had to put the food aside and focus on holding the baby up just right with both arms. The rest of her bowl was definitely cold by the time she got to put the finally sleeping baby back down on her makeshift cloth-bed.

Seeing this, Hyakkimaru took the freshly boiled eggs out with his wooden spoon, and not letting them cool for longer than a few seconds, he began to crack and peel the steaming hot boiled eggs, wincing and pulling his fingers back a few times, but when he was finally done, he held the hot little white bulb out to Dororo first, explaining, "Here. Eat it while it's hot. Food is better for you when it's still hot..."

Dororo smiled and took the offering gratefully, although she grumbled back a bit at his advice, "Ah, I know that~ Just don't want to burn my tongue..." She mentioned, puffing on the egg a few times before taking a bite. "...Mmm~ Your chickens are doing a good job, aniki~" 

He was already peeling the next egg for her too. "Have more. They lay a few more later in the day too..."

She accepted it once the shell was cleaned away, and ate the next steamy egg just as quickly. It was odd how something so simple could taste so good... For some reason, eggs were really just the best comfort foods for trying times... He offered her the next egg too, only taking the last one for his own porridge breakfast.

A little later in the day Hyakkimaru went to the river, fished for a few fish for their dinner, and brought back a bucket of water for Dororo to use with a rag to clean herself up while he cooked the fish. 

Several days went by like this in a blur. Dororo would wake to eat with her aniki, feed the baby, wash up a bit, but otherwise she was sleeping by the hearth and resting. The first couple of days she turned away during feedings, but after a while she didn't bother anymore. Hyakkimaru never stared at her anyways, though she did notice a few rare times where he glanced very quickly before looking away again. It didn't bother her though, he was probably just curious... Especially considering, he probably never got to do this with his own mother as an infant... In fact, he'd probably never gotten breastmilk at all... It was really a miracle he had survived...

Dororo never got the impression that he wanted her to leave, but she did start to feel like staying too long would be a bother, and it was probably best to check back on her other small place to make sure no one with bad intentions realized she left it alone, unlikely as it was that anyone would steal from her...

Hyakkimaru offered to accompany her on the way back but she didn't want to impose more than she had already, and he needed to look after his animals, especially the foal, which was slowly getting bigger and stronger but was definitely still young enough to need to be looked after and trained. So Dororo declined his offer and went back home again, but first promised him that she'd of course come back anytime if she needed more help.

When she got back home she found the midwives all very glad and worried to see her and the baby. She supposed it was a little short-sighted of her to leave without telling anyone... But they understood her reasoning well enough, and were glad to see both her and the baby actually looking better than when they left, not any worse. 

They were still busy with their own work, but a few of them tried just a little harder to check in on Dororo and make sure she wasn't overwhelmed. They seemed to get the idea that Dororo wasn't really all that good herself... That they needed to be a little better, too... 

But Dororo was more hopeful than she left too. She told her eldest sensei, "My aniki thinks she's not so bad... He says he's pretty sure a doctor could at least help her..."

The elder tried to be kind with the child, but also had to be truthful with her, knowing that she was quickly becoming a woman now... "Doctors are scarce after all the wars. You'd have to travel to the bigger cities now to hope to find one... Dororo. The baby probably wouldn't survive such a long trip right now anyways, and you might not either. She'll need to grow a little bigger before the trip and you'll need time to come up with some funds anyways, since the doctor of the caliber you'll need won't work for cheap..."

Dororo had spent most of her father's gold helping the local and neighboring people flourish. She had a small sum still hidden for emergencies but... Well, it might be enough to help Mio...? She just had to make sure to save every extra coin she could until she had the chance to make the trip to the nearest city... 

The next few months were still rough, but it was a little easier with the midwives checking in on her at least a little more often. Mio still fussed but Dororo got into the swing of finding out just what to do and what she needed. It was messy work, but it was worth it. Her smile might be lopsided but it was still charming, and Dororo could see it in Mio's eyes that she loved and needed her...

Dororo was assured several times that she wouldn't be blamed if anything went wrong, that everyone knew the baby was unhealthy and that it would be a miracle to keep surviving... But Dororo was always the type to find miracles, and keep surviving and growing Mio did. Soon it came to be almost an entire yeah since she'd come to Dororo, and she took from Dororo's breast less and less, opting more for trying rice milk and milk from a local farmer's cow. Most kids usually had at least a couple or few teeth by now, but Lil Mio only had one barely peeking out. Dororo was secretly a little thankful for that though, since she did still insist on the breast sometimes, usually late at night...

What to do, what to do she wondered... Then suddenly out of the blue, as she had come to him more than a few times, aniki showed up to her place. He came in the middle of the night the first time, to not be seen by villagers. More than likely they wouldn't recognize his fully restored self, especially since he kept his ponytail much shorter now, sometimes even cutting it extra short before letting it grow no longer than shoulder-length again. But he was still rather shy around lots of people. 

When she answered the door, almost paranoid for a half a second it might be another infant left on her doorstep, she was relieved to instead find him, and then further surprised but confused when he suddenly pulled out a small but full bag of coins...

He whispered to her, "I sold almost all of my harvested crops. Asked my better-off clients for a little more, told them it was for a good cause. Buried a little at home, the rest is here. Whatever it can do, please, let it help Mio... I heard there are more doctors in the bigger cities. Shall we go together...?"

Dororo stared at him, not at his coins, at him, at his eyes... And then out at the road just behind and beyond him. "It'll be a long journey there... I'll be more vulnerable than usual on such an extra long journey... Will you protect me, aniki...?" She then blushed, but at herself, and how that had sounded... "Ah, that is, what I meant to say is... Will you watch my back...?"

He nodded, unperturbed. "I'll protect you both with all my strength... And she'll lend us her strength too." He mentioned, pointing to the black mare he had waiting for him, which he had fastened with a basket attached to her back instead of a saddle. "She's still young, not strong enough for an adult rider yet, but... I figured it would be good practice for her to carry at least a few pounds, so your arms can get a break sometimes. She's well behaved, never runs off. I figured it would make it easier for you..."

She nodded, thanking him, and held the baby out for him, "Well then... I just need to get a few things for the road..." Leaving without anything like last time had been a huge hassle, she'd learned from that overemotional mistake... 

Hyakkimaru, or Harada Ishii as he was known, took the babe to the horse, showed the animal it's first precious cargo, and placed the baby carefully in her cloth-lined basket. After leaving a note on her bed if a neighbor stopped by, Dororo then returned with a cloth sack draped over her shoulder with a few essentials in it, "Okay, I'm ready to hit the road~"

He nodded and they set off together, their hopes slowly rising with the sun.

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End file.
